The Cake Shop revved Silver Apples Oscillations immediately after 120 Days Tuesday set. The next day at Webster Hall, we got entropic NYC synth/drum duo Shy Child, whose opener The Noise Won t Stop continued the Apples rattle and late-1960s racket-- albeit well aware of the sad fact that electroclash did exist a few years ago in Williamsburg. Was I the only one who heard some Rapture vocalisms from singing keyboardist Pete Cafarella?
Quick fact: He s also in Supersystem.
Whatever-- the people wanted disco. Brighter spotlights and a crowd s collectively bigger smiles welcomed a cowbell s entrance, while the rat-a-tat/whirl-whirl formula grew pretty standardized until a guest saxophonist appeared from the shadows.
At one point Cafarella jokingly announced the show as a dinner set -- and that he and his drummer compatriot planned to get dinner afterwards. If that s really the case, it s too damn bad because then they missed an absolutely brilliant effort by my favorite NYC crew not named Excepter.
Gang Gang Dance [Webster Hall; 8 p.
m.]
I had every intention of catching Blue Cheer at the Knitting Factory-- my second reunion show in as many nights, god help me-- but the Load/Cock Rock Disco showcase was, as I should ve suspected, running behind schedule. Seriously, noise rockers are the biggest procrastinators.
But, wanting to check out Brian Gibson s other non-Lighting Bolt band, I opted to accept the fluctuating schedule and overlong laptop drum-n-mace and bask in Wizardzz s glow.
The Pussycat s the ideal noise-show hovel: The second floor of a strip joint, it s outfitted with dirty carpet, a catwalk (perfect for laptops!), a lap dance couch (perfect for laptops!
), stars on the walls, a Smog chandelier, black light, mirrors...
felt like I was in the church of Quintron. Most of the bands played too long, but when Wizardzz-- Gibson and Bug Sized Mind s Rich Porter-- started smoking immediately following Welcome to the TerrorDome , they kicked it all professional-like in their silky-ass outfits, never speaking to the audience, just getting down to shredding. The duo s debut, Hidden City of Taurmond, had hints of this sort of thing, so I was pleased to witness them nailing that swampy, psyched Ornette Coleman dervish, especially in a stripper funhouse of color.
While I was nodding my head, thinking of Barkley s Barnyard Critters, and trying to figure out Porter s pedal situation, they ended in mid-stride, before anyone expected it. Perfect.
Heading down the stairs and onto the street (where a bunch of guys in suits milled about, though it was close to 2 a.
m.), I suddenly felt revitalized, liked I could watch noise nonstop for another ten hours. My second CMJ day began at the Kill Rock Stars/5RC party at Mo Pitkin s, with a performance by the astonishing Marnie Stern.
One of KRS newest signings, Stern looks like Kirsten Dunst and shreds like Mick Barr. But unlike Barr and so many other guitar virtuoso dudes, Stern sings while she manhandles her ax, cooing about glass slippers and diamonds as her nimble fingers fly across the fretboard. I m eagerly anticipating Stern s debut album, In Advance of the Broken Arm, produced by Hella s Zach Hill and due out January 23.
Her brief solo set was a revelation. No such revelations were to be had during Loney, Dear s performance opening Sub Pop s CMJ extravaganza at the Bowery Ballroom. The Swedish group, centered around Emil Svan a ngen s tender indie pop songs, were perfectly competent, but lacked any sort of magic.
Svan a ngen stood stock still, staring at a fixed point out in space in front of him, his expressionless face retaining the same look throughout the set. When he told the crowd he was happy to be there, I didn t believe him. Loney, Dear [Bowery Ballroom; 7 p.
m.]
Given that Oxford Collapse s Michael Pace is the singer/guitarist in a power trio that happens to be signed to Sub Pop, I gotta hand it to him for having the balls to wear a plaid button-down shirt to his label s showcase. Not that anyone would ever confuse Pace with Kurt Cobain--in addition to his brown curly hair, thick moustache, and goatee, Pace dedicated a song to Pat O Brien and joked about receiving a neck massage before the show to relieve his symptoms of metal neck (aka headbanging too hard).
Oxford Collapse s focused, intense performance, which included several standouts from their new album Remember the Night Parties, highlighted how much Oxford Collapse are basically an early-90s emo band (see: Cap n Jazz). Oxford Collapse [Bowery Ballroom; 8 p.m.
]
Frida Hyv o nen [Skirball Center at NYU; 8 p.m.]
Swedish pianist Frida Hyv o nen plays soft dinner music with jarringly sexual lyrics, and she likes grapes.
It s a very social fruit, she explained. As her fingers dashed playfully across the ivories, Hyv o nen sang about cocks and reminded us not to take off our pants. The smattering of New York University kids who arrived early, before the Wrens and Walkmen-- I ve got, like, two papers due tomorrow .
.. Dude, why are you even HERE?
-- politely applauded.
The Wrens [Skirball Center at NYU; 9 p.m.
]
After recently releasing a and playing three sold-out shows together to commemorate the closing of CBGB, D.C. hardcore legends seem to be back in commission.
According to Billboard.com, the original quartet-- which consists of vocalist H.R.
, guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer, and drummer Earl Hudson-- are planning the spring release of a currently untitled album, produced by Adam Yauch, aka MCA.
The lawyers are finishing up the last little tidbits of it, Dr.
Know told Billboard.com. There s a lot of dubs, and there s some old school-meets-new school Brains.
Not moderate tempo, but fast tempo. Yauch said, Man, I want y all to do some old school-type shit, so we did it like that. I want to start working on the next one, because we did that one two years ago already.
He also mentioned four song titles, two of which are dubs ( Article and Kingdom Come ) and two of which are rock songs ( It s All Rock n Roll and Let There Be Light ).
Dr. Know is also eager to begin work on his first solo album.
I want to sit down this winter and start hashing her out. I ve got a few little riffs working, but I want to sit down and perfect them, put some people together, and record them up. There s going to be total crazy special guests-- whoever I can get.
A lot of people said they would participate: Flea, Mos [Def], the Living Colour guys, Darryl, Earl, and H.R.
Bad Brains are considering the release of additional archival video footage as well.
One such show, shot by a friend of the band, features them playing with the Circle Jerks, Living Colour, and Leeway.
Yo La Tengo, Animal Collective on Shortbus Soundtrack So yes, s (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) new film is the one where some dude sings our nation s national anthem into another dude s butt. Perhaps you ve also heard it s a skin flick with heart, or that it takes a thoughtfully candid look at the sexploits of various dispossessed persons, or that it s phenomenal and/or abominable.
What you may not have heard is that it also boasts a bangin soundtrack featuring an exclusive cut by , among other treasures. And who better than lovemonkey Conor Oberst and his label to bring that amor-rific soundtrack to the streets? Shortbus (the CD) arrives November 7 bearing previously unreleased YLT tune Wizard s Sleeve alongside still fresh selections from Animal Collective, Azure Ray, the Hidden Cameras, Swedish glam-rockers the Ark, and even a few Shortbus (the film) stars: Sook-Yin Lee, Justin Bond (aka Kiki of Kiki Herb fame), Scott Matthew, and Jay Brannan.
Perfect for, dear god, sing-alongs with your friends! Hold any lately? Proceed with caution.
Wait, forget that-- risk it all to get to Castell o n, Spain for the eighth edition of the music festival, running several venues across the city: Centro Municipal de Cultura, Teatre Principal, and Casino Antiguo. Might want to ditch the cell phones, clinking beer bottles, and boisterous buds, however, as Tanned Tin s website boasts an almost religious silence accompanying past festival performances. Yikes!
Acts scheduled to perform include: M. Ward, Six Organs of Admittance, Okkervil River, Psychic Ills, I Love You But I ve Chosen Darkness, David Thomas Broughton, Lisa Name Is Alive, the Radio Dept., Magik Markers, and more.
Wonderful, spectral folkstress Annelies Monser e will open the festival with a free show on November 8. Make the jump for the complete event schedule.
Seattle s , home of the Black Angels, the Os Mutantes resissues, and the compilation, has just announced its newest release: a remastered edition of s 1971 lost classic In My Own Time, due out November 7 on CD and vinyl.
Circa 1960, Dalton was a regular performer at the pass-the-hat clubs in New York s Greenwich Village, where she d gig with the likes of Dino Valenti, Fred Neil, and Bob Dylan. She was often compared to Billie Holiday (and hated it). But, perhaps because she interpreted other people s songs ( When a Man Loves a Woman , Katie Cruel ) and (dare we say it?
) was a Native American woman, she s been largely forgotten by the public.
However, one look at In My Own Time s liner notes will set you straight. The ten tracks were originally recorded by Harvey Brooks (who played with Dylan on Highway 61 Revisited), and masterminded by Michael Lang (who, like, totally signed a young Billy Joel and co-founded Woodstock).
Dalton, who sings and plays the twelve-string guitar and banjo, was backed by dudes from the Gaslight and the Cock and Bull (two Greenwich Village clubs), and also Robbie Robertson s the Band.
Lenny Kaye, Patti Smith Group guitarist, wrote the album s introduction. His essay is joined by testimonials from (who, along with the rest of the Band Seeds, considers Dalton a hero) and , who purposefully recorded Cripple Crow at Bearsville-- the same studio where Dalton created In My Own Time.
Pretty much, when I tell the story of how I got into Vashti Bunyan, said Banhart in an interview with Pitchfork about Dalton, where I was living out in France and didn t have anywhere to stay, I always say that the two things that really kept me alive-- that became my pillow, and my food, and my blanket, and my bed, my friend-- that was listening to Bunyan s Just Another Diamond Day LP and Karen Dalton s Ribbon Bow . When Banhart returned to New York, he paid 50 bucks for the In My Own Time LP, which probably also meant living on beans and really, really cheap whiskey for at least a week afterwards.
Featured in the colorful, junk, white noise, some seriously cool boots, and an astonishing waste of plastic wrap.
Its bustling nature is telling of both Tokyo Police Club and, humorously, Tokyo (even though the band actually resides in Canada). A+, dudes.
Jay-Z continues his run of either completely selfish or completely misguided decisions as president of Def Jam with the December 19 release of debut for the label, Hip-Hop Is Dead.
So now both and Nas get to experience the joy of having their albums buried at a time when shopping for the biggest holiday of the year is winding down.
Questionable business plan on the part of his label head aside, Nas album looks promising. It s tracklist-less at the moment, but-- (if you don t, listen below)-- first leak Where Y all At was a good sign of the MC being in top form on the LP.
He s certainly not lacking star power on the featuring side of the equation. Kanye produced and provided the hook for Still Dreamin ; Snoop Dogg appears on Play on Player ; the Game guests on Q.B.
True G , which Dr. Dre produced; Damian Marley appears on White Man s Paper (War) , which samples Marley s father; Scott Storch produced Carry on Tradition ; surprise Midas will.i.
am produced both the title track and the Sam Cooke-sampling Unforgettable ; and Nas himself flipped a James Brown sample in producing Where Are They Now .
Considering Def Jam s recent approach to promoting their non-Jay artists, this might be the last time you hear about Hip-Hop Is Dead, so mark your calendars. One month is probably enough time for you to forget all about the disappointment that Kingdom Come is sure to be.
The Twilight Sad [Fontana s; 8 p.m.]
CMJ boot camp began on trash night in Chinatown, Metallica s Master of Puppets lifting spirits in Fontana s upstairs bar.
Meanwhile, in the basement, noisy Glasgow pop group the Twilight Sad tore eardrums: The quartet s self-titled EP s great, but I imagine if I hadn t heard it three dozen times, I would ve failed to untangle the melodies from the feedback. They opened with vocalist James Graham wielding a drum stick and smashing cymbals along with the fresh-faced, Campbell Soup-kid drummer. But it was the Daniel Johnston t-shirt wearing guitarist who stole the show with his awkward teenage Kevin Shields impersonation-- all the more charming because he was out of tune.
Strumming in a slapdash style, now again sipping from a cup with a Yankees logo on it, he looked bored and utterly fascinated at the same time. Still, despite the white noise hubbub, the general focal point remained the swoony Graham, who another Pitchforker later called the most attractive man alive. Well, he must ve been scared of his own beauty because he kept his eyes shut for 75% of the set, issuing romantic utterances about kids on fire in the bedroom, running out of time, the invisible boy, and feeling bitter, so very bitter.
Halfway through, amplifier problems led to a slight delay, so a bearded oldster jumped on stage and read, gently, a poem, Twilight Sad. It was a great calm in the storm, but had me wondering: What came first, the poem or the band? Anyone?
Beach House [Cake Shop; 10:15 p.m.]
Murph will take to the road late this month, meeting up with Sonic Youth and Thalia Zedek along open the trio s London gig with an acoustic solo set.
On December 16, Mascis will perform a solo set in Germany, opening for Sonic Youth. Dinosaur Jr. plan to release a new album, produced by , in Spring 2007.
It is, according to a recent entry on Barlow s website, very nearly complete, though we still don t know anything with regard to its title, label, or release date. A DVD from the band is also on its way. Directed by Mascis brother-in-law Phillip Virus, it documents the first half of the band s reunion tour, and hits stores May 8.
solo front as well. As he continued in the aforementioned post, I m working on a CD EP for my friend Jesus right now..
.I figure it s good practice for my next solo LP to throw some new + old songs together..
.get my engineering chops back, twiddling knobs..
.flexing the old hard-drive..
.Jesus has a label. He does lotsa one-off CDs for indie-types like myself.
..That will come out and I will do my best to get a box or two to sell on this here site.
.. In addition, the bassist Collection of Home Recordings (1994, ) reissues.
Tacked on to the disc is the Losercore seven inch, now on CD for the first time ever. Barlow also acquired a 12 vinyl of s Dare to Be Surprised, so stay tuned to see if these rarity items pop up on his online merch table. Finally, we d like to that Barlow, Eric Gaffney, and Jason Loewenstein have reunited .
The legendary three-piece will tour this spring, from late February to early April. Specific dates have not yet been confirmed.
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